Outside Chaos School, George took a glance back at the school gates before turning to Abbott with a dejected expression, and asked, "Are we going back to Rodu now?"
"We have no choice but to leave right away. Master Krassu only spared us due to his past connection with the Magus Tower, but that little girl's other master is not going to be so kind. If we don't go now, we may have to stay here forever." Abbott nodded with a grave expression as he glanced at Hank, who was being helped onto a horse-drawn carriage by his companions.
When I come back next time, I'm going to become more powerful and return the humiliation that you brought me! George made a promise to himself as he, too, climbed onto a horse-drawn carriage. All 10 of the Magus Tower horse-drawn carriages quickly sped away from Chaos School, heading toward the city gates.
When the group of horse-drawn carriages exited the city gates, less than a day had passed since they had last come through those very same gates. They had come with ambitions to conquer and dominate, but they were now scurrying away with their tails between their legs.
After traveling for close to 10 kilometers, they reached a forest, and one of the horse-drawn carriages suddenly came to a stop as a commotion rang out.
"What's going on?" Abbott emerged from the first horse-drawn carriage with furrowed brows.
"He..." The coach driver pointed at the carriage, and was about to offer an explanation.
"I can't go back. I'm just a useless piece of trash now. My master won't want to see me." Hank crawled out from the carriage, and his hand slipped, causing him to tumble down onto the ground.
"Hank!" Two young boys emerged from the carriage to help him up.
"Leave me alone! We're different now; you're all prodigies destined for great things, while I'm just a useless piece of trash who can never use magic again." Hank raised his head and roared in a heartbroken voice. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he was in complete despair.
The two young boys faltered upon hearing that, and they both turned to Abbott for help.
"Have you made up your mind?" Abbott asked. Hank was Brent's best disciple, and had extremely bright prospects. As such, it was understandable for him to exhibit such a strong reaction after having his mind realm destroyed.
"Yes." Hank looked at Abbott with bloodshot eyes, and gritted teeth as he said, "Don't worry, I'll survive. I'll find a way to cultivate magic again, and I'll come back to exact my revenge someday!"
Abbott looked at Hank in silence for a while before nodding as he said, "Alright, you can go, then."
Hank took a glance at the young boys on the carriage, gritting his teeth as he rose to his feet. He turned and stumbled into the forest, quickly disappearing from everyone's line of sight.
"Keep going, and go faster this time!" Abbott re-entered his carriage, and the line of carriages continued onward.
"Won't Hank be in danger if he leaves now?" George turned to Abbott with a concerned expression.
"If he doesn't leave now, he would very likely be killed after returning to the Magus Tower. He has to take responsibility for his actions, and he's no use to anyone as someone who can no longer cultivate magic," Abbott replied calmly.
George understood what Abbott was saying, and he clenched his fists as he fell silent for a while. He then asked, "Will he be able to find a way to cultivate magic again?"
"There are no records in history of anyone who was able to cultivate magic again after having their mind realm damaged, so there's no way unless he cultivates sorcery." Abbott shook his head.
"I see." George nodded with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
Back when they had arrived at Chaos School, they were planning on dominating in the match; they'd then take a tour of Chaos City for a few days. However, they had been sent scurrying back in less than a day, and Hank had lost his ability to cultivate magic.
As for cultivating sorcery, that was a path that no magic caster wanted to take. No one would want to be reduced to that half-human, half-ghost state and risk losing their soul for eternity.
George was sure that a person as proud as Hank wouldn't stoop to such a low level.
Following the match, all of the students were led back to their classrooms by their teachers. However, the excitement on their faces suggested that they wouldn't be paying much attention to their lessons anyway.
Meanwhile, Amy was given the entire day off by Krassu as a reward for her performance.
"Bye bye, Master Krassu." Amy waved farewell to Krassu at the entrance of the venue.
"Goodbye, Little Amy." Krassu stood beside Novan and smiled as he waved back at Amy. He looked on until Amy and Mag disappeared from sight before turning to Novan with a smile as he asked, "What did you want to speak to me about?"
Novan smiled as he replied, "Nothing much. I was just wondering when you would deliver on your promise. I'm going to gather all of the Chaos School teachers for a meeting soon, and I want you to come with me to discuss setting up melee magic lessons for our school."
"You're getting a little impatient, I see. Aren't you worried that all of the students would ditch long-range magic to study melee magic?" Krassu asked with a smile.
"Why would I be worried about that? I've always been an advocate of free choice for our students. Besides, Amy displayed the might of both long-range and melee magic today, so it's up to them how they want to decide. The priority for our school is to provide a diverse range of lessons so the students can learn whatever they want. In the end, they'll choose what's most suitable for them." Novan was quite calm and collected.
Krassu took a glance at Novan, and nodded as he said, "Alright, but as discussed, I can teach the students, but they don't count as my disciples. Amy is my only disciple."
"And they'll only call you teacher, not master. You can refer to them as students." Novan nodded in response.
"Students? I like that title." Krassu chuckled.
"You just said you'd be cutting all ties with the Magus Tower from this day forth; were you serious?" Novan turned to Krassu with a curious expression.
"Of course. I made the announcement in front of so many people; am I supposed to just revoke it?" Krassu pursed his lips, and looked up at the sky with a slightly dejected expression as he said, "The Magus Tower is no longer the Magus Tower that it once was. I asked Arthur to bring all my things here, so I'll no longer have anything to do with them. Richard will surely be very happy to hear this."
"Chaos School welcomes you." Novan extended a hand toward Krassu with a smile on his face.
Krassu turned to look at Novan with a suspicious expression as he asked, "You planned this all along, didn't you?"
"I invited you 20 years ago, but you rejected me on that occasion. Otherwise, you would be the principal of Chaos School now," Novan replied.
"Looks like I made a wise decision back then." Krassu shook Novan's hand, and both of them burst into laughter.
"Young Master, didn't you say we were going to Mamy Restaurant for lunch? Can we go now?" Yngwie stood outside Blour's door with an exasperated look.
"Give me another half an hour. I'm getting changed." Blour's lazy voice sounded in reply from within the room.
You need half an hour to get changed? What are you, a woman? Yngwie grumbled internally, but he couldn't do anything. He strode out into the small courtyard and took a deep breath of fresh air. If he were to stay in there any longer, he felt like he was going to pass out from rage sooner or later.